Wrap It Up

In my last post I walked you through a process that starts a speech with just key ideas, and helps you memorize those ideas rather than trying to write out and remember a full text.  Now let's round it out with more material and a clear beginning and ending.

You have obviously only memorized about a minute worth of material so far, and you probably need more.  Most of it will come from expanding your points with explanation.  The rest will come in the form of an introduction and conclusion.

We will start with the body of your speech.  You are able to recall each of your points.  Speak each one out loud as you might way it to an audience, and then follow it with some explanation.  For instance, let's imagine that your main point is that the smokers in your audience should give up cigarettes, and the first keyword you memorized was money.  You might say out loud "I want to persuade you to quit smoking, and the first reason I think you should is money.  It costs a lot to keep that habit going.  Think about what you could be buying if you didn't spend money on cigarettes."  Most of this explanation was already on your mind when you wrote out your points in our last step, so it shouldn't be too hard to speak this much without a script.  Go through all your points in order this way several times and you will find you have almost created an entire speech ready in your memory.

Now for the introduction.  Find a way to catch the attention of your audience.  Ask them a question or give them startling information.  You might start by asking "Do you know how much you spend in a year if you smoke a pack of cigarettes every day?"  Once they are listening, tell them who you are and why they should believe you.  Maybe you quit smoking yourself, or you've done research on the topic.  Mention whatever helps your credibility with your audience.  Tell them what they will get for their attention.  "This speech will help you save money and may even save your life!"  When you have covered these bases you are ready to get to your main point.  From there you work your way through your points as you have already practiced.

Finish off by leaving them with one thought that will stick.  Summarize your speech in one sentence, or repeat your best argument, for example.  In this case it might be "What will you do with all that extra spending money?" that makes the impression.

Using this simplified method may take a bit of practice, but once you have the method down you will be able to produce and present speeches in a fraction of the time it would take to create and recall full texts.  Now you can relax and enjoy your audience!